Damian Carrington Environment editor Friday 22 September 2017 12.23 BST First published on Thursday 21 September 2017 19.00 BSTThe assumption by regulators around the world that it is safe to use pesticides at industrial scales across landscapes is false, according to a chief scientific adviser to the UK government.

Damning assessment by one of the UK’s chief scientific advisers says global regulations have ignored the impacts of ‘dosing whole landscapes’ and must change

Yet another country announces their intention to end the sale of fossil fuel cars. First it was France, then the United Kingdom and now it is China. Bloomberg has reportedthat the Chinese authorities have been looking a timeline for phasing out the sale of fossil fuel vehicles according to the Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Xin Guobin. On paper this move should be significant. China is one of the World’s largest automobile markets with over 28 million vehicles sold last year. China is in line with an industry that is rapidly improving electric cars and many will see the news as positive. The problem with China’s ban on fossil fuel cars is that it doesn’t do anything to solve the root cause of air pollution in its cities. It grabs headlines but instead China, England and France should be focusing on rethinking how we use our cities.

James Thornton’s specialty is suing governments and corporations on behalf of his only client – the Earth – and he’s very good at it. In his four decades of legal practice across three continents, he’s never lost a case.

Pope Francis to World Leaders: 'Listen to the Cry of the Earth'

Pope Francis, who has a strong belief in the science of climate change, called upon world leaders on Wednesday to "listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer most because of the unbalanced ecology."

Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew I, the head of the Orthodox Christian Church, will issue a joint message to commemorate the annual "World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation" on Friday, the Associated Press reported.